Is mini-golf as fun as you remember?

The gators were mocking me.

They didn’t say anything, obviously, but I could see it in their eyes. I had banked my first putt at Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf, located at 3815 N Tamiami Trail, off the right stone wall, where it sputtered to a stop many feet from the hole. I deserved the gators’ mockery.

Thankfully, I made up for it on the next putt by sinking it, and shuffled off to the second hole before their stares burned a hole in my back.

I was at Smugglers Cove for fun, but also to find out what playing mini-golf is like in 2018. I can’t remember the last time I played. Probably with my family, on vacation in North Carolina many years ago. Is it still something people do? I wasn’t sure. There’s not many places to play here (two within Sarasota, one in Lakewood Ranch and two in Bradenton), especially compared to the number of full golf courses there are.

So I investigated, selecting Smugglers Cove because, honestly, its slogan is “The one with the gators,” and I respect anyone whose slogan is straight to the point. It’s also the closest one to my apartment. Turns out, I made a great choice. I arrived around 7 p.m., and I was thrilled to see the place busy.

First hole embarrassment aside, I felt pretty good about the rest of my round. Smugglers Cove’s 18 holes vary between the straightforward (embankments on either side of the green) and the complex (a cave that hides the hole’s exact location from view), creating a nice challenge for younger golfers. I had a few holes-in-one circle the drain before being spit back out, which was frustrating, but hey, that’s golf. I finally got one on hole 14 and audibly said “Oh yeah!” while pumping my fist like I had just won the Masters. Now it was the people, not the gators, who were staring.

About that. Every played mini-golf alone? It feels weird! I’m 99% sure the people playing in front of me, Donna and Ron Mann and their 11-year- old grandchildren Eli Heinke and MaKayla Liefer, thought I was insane until I introduced myself. The family had played two rounds of golf that day — first in the morning, then at night, because they had so much fun the first time (and it was Eli’s birthday).

“It’s challenging, but really fun,” Eli said. “The holes with water are the best.”

MaKayla agreed, and added that it’s a good time no matter how you do. Results vary: Three members of the family got holes-in-one on No. 14 the first time through, and none of them did the second.

I finished out the round with a bunch of two-stroke holes and returned my club. I had been keeping score, so I tallied up my score. A 44. Not bad, I thought, until course manager Sarah Carter told me that par was 34, and suddenly I could feel the heat of the gators again. (The course record is 27, and the 12-and-under record is 35).

Carter has worked at the course for 14 years and said she still loves to play when she can. She’s the best in her family, she said, though they believe that’s because she spends all day practicing. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have that luxury.

The course’s popularity has been on a steady incline since the recession, she said, a good sign for the sport’s future. A big reason for that is Smugglers Cove’s willingness to listen to its customers. The 18th hole was redesigned a year and a half ago after complaints that it was too easy, for instance. When Hurricane Irma knocked out a sizeable amount of the course’s foliage, the 12th hole got quite sunny, so it added another tree for shade. 

“We’re always thinking, ‘How can we make it better?’” Carter said. “When you bring your family and friends, we want you to create lasting memories. That’s what it’s all about.”

The Mann family will remember their two-round day for a long time, and I’ll remember my futility until the bruise on my ego heals (it can take a while), so mission accomplished. As it turns out, mini-golf in 2018 is a lot like mini-golf in the past: A blast.